Let's take a break from the music for a quick second and remind everyone your tax deductions have to be made by midnight tonight to count for your 2015 taxes. Two groups near and dear to Johnny's heart could sure use your support in any amount. Let's help the wonderful dogs and cats who need our help but don't have a voice of their own. Your contribution helps them immensely.

Ah, hippies. As Eric Cartman says they want to save the world but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad. But they too, back in their time, had happy messages of love and brotherhood and a positive outlook (On smoking pot and smelling bad), and that's one perhaps we can all take into 2016.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

As all the regular crowd knows tomorrow in an unabashed tribute to great music. It's music all day long leading up to midnight and here's where the regulars have an advantage, they know the last song before 2016. If you don't know well then you'll have to tune in.

If Johnny is giving out grades to Mayor Fulop it'd be in the C- to D+ range this year. His attorneys showing up at city council meetings where millions in tax breaks are being decided with their heads up their asses and not knowing the length of abatements they were even talking about and leaving. Bzzzzt. City Hall jobs that appear and aren't subject to any oversight or usual hiring practices. Bzzzzzt. That many of these jobs seem set-up to help the mayor's run for governor Bzzzzt Bzzzzt. Bubba Cowan's lawsuit, though dismissed sure brought up some interesting points. Especially that Robbinsville incident. The case might be dropped but it doesn't mean the original claim wasn't true. Administrative spending is far too high. City spending is far too high. This coming from a really liberal person, not some reactionary tea party goof, also someone who knows economics.

Fulop's mishandling of the election date change does at the end become a null because no matter how shady the original plan was, the people will get a full say on real numbers in the end.

The reval that's now coming is going to be pinned on the mayor just as it would have been under Healy or Cunningham. Someone was gonna get it. But it will be Fulop who has to sit there like a jackass in a hailstorm and take it. If he'd have just let the other 5% of it get done and dealt with it right after he became mayor he could have blamed it on Healy and it wouldn't have changed any of the tax breaks he planned to continue giving out. He'd have skated by but now that Drumthwacket is calling it's much much more troublesome.

Jackass meet hailstorm.

We especially liked McDonald's take on the double-dippers that city council member Fulop raged against. There's a saying going around town, "Councilman Fulop would hate Mayor Fulop's guts."

Fulop also went through more spokespeople, most noteworthy new guy Ryan Jacobs who we hardly even got to call a spokesmodel before he left. Sad face. Quite interesting McDonald points out Fulop's known temper in dealing with staff when discussing all the disappeared spokespeople. Spokespeople, some of whom Johnny has known well don't normally get really rattled at public criticism to the point they'd keep quitting. Maybe it's someone else flying off the handle at fair critiques made of him and making life unbearable for those who spin his message.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Tonight a tribute to all the ladies who (through no fault of their own of course) wound up on Santa's naughty or perhaps the more politically correct bad girl list. Again, Johnny doesn't judge, he just hopes you get all the loot you want. Starting off our Christmas Music Series is a classic tale of a gal on Santa's B-list. Elle King and 'Ex's & Oh's'

A rival of Mayor Steve Fulop is asking state officials to audit Jersey City's tax program, saying the city's recent move to halt new assessments of renovated homes was outside of Fulop's legal authority.

Bill Matsikoudis — a Fulop critic when he was top city attorney under ex-Mayor Jerramiah Healy — alleges in a letter sent today to state tax officials that "political concerns" appear to have been behind the city's request to stop the added assessments, which would have given over 450 homeowners a tax break.
This reval that was cancelled after being 95% done, Loans now to developers, the shifty none-too-aboveboard plan to declare City Hall a dilapidated property so the property next to it can be wink wink'd to developer friends of the mayor at an oh-so-special rate. Who benefits? The developer. Who pays? If you're reading this angrily most likely you and Johnny.

The taxpayers of Jersey City deserve a full accounting of all city finances on a forensic level by an independent firm. This means going back into the Healy years as well Mr. Matsikoudis and if any financial skullduggery was going on back with your guy we're guessing you all know a good attorney. No more trusting city hall or council. A full forensic accounting, if need be to be paid for by developer checks in lieu of real tax rates so it can't be argued the city lacks the finances to do so. No, a locally connected firm or the same old firm attesting to the numbers isn't enough anymore. There are of course many other things the forensic accountants can look into, departmental budgets (and we'll almost guarantee they find some questionable spending and practices under those rocks) and payroll and possible no-show jobs as a certain other investigation turned up quite by a drunken car accident this year. The point is, the taxpayers of our fair city deserve a complete check-up with X-ray machines of our finances. Anyone opposing such makes Johnny wonder about what exactly they'd be worried about someone finding.

Not a happy ho ho ho commentary tonight but one that says from the top down city hall seems rather divested from the recent murder in Journal Square of the store owner and another now classified as a murder after an attack last summer. Council dares not say anything to upset the mayor and the mayor is doing as little as he can to talk about real city issues.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Last post for a week or so as Johnny's got some good weather reports for the next week to ten days and he's going to try the "Three Snowbelt Run" from here to his in-laws snuggled up against Lake Michigan. Going home to see family for the Christmas season for the first time in seven years. With any luck and if weather holds we'll have the Jersey City Desk back up and running before Christmas Eve.

Here, enjoy this yule log until Johnny and the staff return.
Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Sunday, December 13, 2015

In Back to the Future, when Marty wrote the warning letter to Doc before he goes into the future, the word "disaster" is the only word in the last line. Yet when Doc shows Marty the letter 30 years later after having been all taped up, yellowed and "terrible disaster" is the last line. That's one magic letter.

Seriously, go outside, you'll never have a better December 13th to get out and about. Know how Johnny knows? In all the history of tracking temperatures NO OTHER December 13th in history has been so warm. Go shopping around town. Go get brunch, go for a walk, but go play and we'll see you back here tonight.

Johnny was all up in this place we call Jersey City today. What a beautiful day to be out and about. Hopefully more of it tomorrow. Johnny will make a game time call on anyone going into the office based on the weather but right now he might just tell the staff to go outside and play.

Well it's now past midnight on the eastern seaboard and Hoboken New Jersey which means today is officially December 12 and that makes it a cool 100 for Frank Sinatra. Look, we could sit here all night and debate our favorite Frank Sinatra songs but it's Johnny's blog so he'll go with his favorite, in a tribute to the good people of Hoboken who Johnny has been known to kid from time to time, 'Summer Wind'

Johnny will try to keep it short in heaping the praise on the guy who wrote the soundtrack to Johnny's angst-ridden teen years, who wrote the best album ever in Quadrophenia and let this song play you off on one of Johnny's twenty favorite albums, Empty Glass. Johnny still has that album and cover just waiting to be autographed one day. Played it down to the vinyl....twice.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

After asking city council to stick their necks out for him in accepting the vote of several Jersey City residents on moving the election to November from May Mayor Fulop has decided we'll all have a neat-o revote to see if city elections will move. Some of these city council members Johnny has a hunch aren't real keen on running on a November ticket, one possibly for governor.

Voters already signaled their narrow support via a non-binding ballot question last month. Critics have argued that the low voter turnout indicated there is not wide support for changing the election date, a move that could not be reversed for at least 10 years.Changing the quadrennial city elections to November would be key for Fulop's political future. If they remain in May, he would have to choose whether to run for re-election in May 2017 or run in the June 2017 gubernatorial primary. If the change to November is approved, he would have the option of running for re-election if his dream of becoming governor fizzles.
So November it is and Johnny has a hunch the city elections are going to stay in May but at least it'll be a fair drop.

Is the Jersey City police department spending extra time and resources on the Bay St. Towers (Formerly Trump Plaza) because of Donald Trump's incendiary comments towards Muslims? Do they feel the building could become some kind of target as resident's at Trump's NYC buildings think? And if in fact the JCPD are putting more resources towards policing the Bay St. Towers shouldn't the bill for that go directly to the Trump offices?

Of course we realize the JCPD would never indicate they are or aren't paying any more attention to a building one way or another (though at first glance it sure looks like it) but we have to wonder as a city if the bill for such shouldn't be sent along to the one causing the problems.

The letter, sent to the Al Tawheed Islamic Center on Logan Avenue, includes numerous disparaging comments about Muslims, and references comments Trump has made about "thousands and thousands" of people in Jersey City celebrating the 9/11 attacks, a claim that has been widely discredited."We do not want you here," the letter reads. "We do not like you. You are evil."
Gutless. Heartless, Uninformed. In a nutshell Trump and his watercarriers.

The Jersey CIty Desk is not going to tolerate this kind of shit. C'mon, make yourself known, coward.

Two teams, one gameday thread, can't beat that when Johnny is feeling like a lazy bastard.

By rights and a lots of metrics the Giants should do well today. They have decided advantages at a couple of key positions, not the least of which is quarterback. Eli Manning is better than Grizzly Fitzpatrick, he just is. So why is Johnny leaning Mean Green on this one tight now?

The Jets we have a feeling are going to be able to run today. They're going to have to which means if Johnny knows it the Giants sure do and still the Jets are gonna be able to control the tempo of the game on the ground is Johnny's guess. The Jets average over 100 yards on the ground a game and we see nothing in Big Blue's resume this year that says that won't continue. We also don't think the Giants are going to be able to run, not that they ever seem to make it a priority. Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. will have to have strong days and stretch the field vertically and with no Darrell Revis in the Jets secondary there's no excuse not to. Eli seems to play better against teams outside the division if you ask us.

Again, there are a lot of reasons the Giants could and should win, this game has BIG playoff implications for both teams, ie a December gut-check. The Jets running game though, it'll open enough balls for Brandon Marshall for the Jets to pull off a close win.

Stanford 41
USC 22
Christian McCaffrey ran wild as Stanford punched their ticket to another Rose Bowl but who will await them, Iowa or Ohio State is the question

Houston 24
Temple 13
A nice little season for Temple regardless

Kansas State 24
West Virginia 23
Many a couch in Morgantown was saved in this West Virginia loss

San Diego State 27
Air Force 24
Will you look at that, something called the Mountain West has a title game

Linfield 38
Mary Hardin-Baylor 35
Linfield says they won but they're known cheaters, you can't trust a thing they say

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Louisiana Monroe 42
New Mexico State 35
Trey Caldwell returned an interception in the fourth quarter to help the Warhawks get power up and win just their second game of the season. As we all know, Trey Caldwell' may loot and pillage, well, since this is the last Scoreboard Show this year, until next August. Lookout Monroe Louisiana

Saturday, December 5, 2015

You may not know it from reading here but in day to day dealing with people and in general Johnny's fairly reserved. That's out the window. His Spartans are in Indianapolis tonight to look to go to the top four team playoff. A win over Iowa would do that. On Monday Michigan State's basketball team will be voted #1 in the country. It's a good time to be a Spartan.

Word on the street is there are a lot of other title games going on today. Glory be, we have ourselves a SPORGY!

Jersey City by way of Detroit (and Johnny's friend). One of the finest blues singers around. Don't take Johnny's word for it. Here's a real treat, Eliza Neals and 'Misery' and trust Johnny, you won't hear a better song tonight. Or this week. Or this month.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Donald Trump lied about Jersey City on 9/11. It's been well documented what Donald Trump (and other FOX nutjobs) claimed to have seen in Jersey City on 9/11. Thousands or hundreds of Muslims (who in Eric Bolling's case said were tipped off the attack was coming so they COULD celebrate) did not ever celebrate the attacks on America. Still, with Trump appealing to the lowest common denominator as far as educated voters go, he seems to gain traction with the claim when it's not pushed back in his face. Today the Jersey City A-Team held a meeting to address Trump's stupidity and we are all for this pushback:Fulop said Trump’s “hate rhetoric” was “ironic” since Jersey City has allows been a place associated with the American Dream.

During the question and answer session with the media, Fulop doubled down “that there is no record” to prove any celebrations occurred in Jersey City shortly after 9/11. Jersey City Council members Rolando Lavarro, Rich Boggiano and Michael Yun also took the podium at the event, as did Paterson Council President William McCoy – shooting down speculation that any celebrations occurred in his urban city, either.

The Hudson County View has much more on the meeting but when Johnny called on a concerted effort from the top down, and not just leaving the fightback to citizens, this is exactly what he meant. Great job by the mayor and all involved to protect our good name.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Johnny called in a favor and got roof access near where the old Cooke Warehouse at Bay St. and Warren is in the final stages of demolition. What video, any closer and you'd have rubble on your keyboard.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Both Athletic Director Julie Hermann and and football head coach Kyle Flood have been relived of their duties, duties if they'd done better they'd still have. The letter President Robert Barchi sent released can be read here and NJ.com has given grades to both Hermann and Flood in their tenure and those can be found be clicking the links on their names.

Rutgers has already hired Patrick Hobbs as AD. Hobbs is currently a Seton Hall dean of law.

So much on the line on Rivalry Saturday, let's see who passed the tests...

Maryland 46
Rutgers 41
The Star-Ledger indicated that when RU had a 31-13 lead over the Terps at halftime they might just be one of those 5-7 teams invited to a bowl game. The Scarlet Knights must have heard that because they managed to dump the game to Maryland somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. Buh bye Kyle & Julie

Michigan State 55
Penn State 16
Sparty wins the B1G East Division title over Urban Khakis and face Iowa in a steel cage death match next week for a coveted playoff spot

Stanford 38
Notre Dame 36
The Irish can forget the playoffs as Touchdown Jesus can't block a late Stanford FG

Florida State 27
Florida 2
Yeeeeeah, Florida is gonna stop Alabama in the SEC title game next week....NOT

Northwestern 24
Illinois 14
If you knew Northwestern was 10-2 raise your hand. Not many, not many

Georgia 13
Georgia Tech 7
Evolution 0

Slippery Rock 41
Assumption 39
You know what happens when you assume

Chattanooga 50
Fordham 20
Fordham crashes hard out of the playoffs

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Florida Atlantic 33
Old Dominion 31
Greg Joseph he's our man, if he can't do it no one can! Greg Joseph hit two fourth quarter field goals to help FAU get power up and earn that all important third and final victory for the Owls this season

Saturday, November 28, 2015

A beautiful late November day dawns for the Senior Day festivities in Piscatawy today and Rutgers, if you can believe this, still has something to play for at 4-7. If the Scarlet Knights win today vs the god-awful Maryland Terrapins then Rutgers at 5-7 COULD go to a bowl game. Division 1 football is seemingly void of, going into the last week of the regular season, enough 6 win teams to fill all the bowl games. The experts are saying a couple three 5-7 teams might sneak into a bowl game which right there tells you we have far too many bowl games.

Rutgers will be playing for the last time in front of head coach Kyle Flood who is expected to be fired as soon as Sunday along with Rutgers AD Julie Hermann. In Johnny's opinion both need to go for Rutgers to get back on track and in Hermann's case not just football. So yes, RU should come out and it's our guess they will beat Maryland who is already playing for an interim coach, and move to 5-7. Will RU get a bowl invite in which case? Other than it would give underclassmen another couple weeks of practice under their belts going into 2016 in Johnny's opinion 5-7 teams don't go to bowl games.

Johnny thinks we're all lucky that when Marty McFly went Back to the Future he didn't interact with The Famingos in any way or we may never have had this all-time classic love song. The great part of this song is you can sing the backup vocals and be as cool as lead PROVIDED you get your backup dance steps right otherwise you're just going to look like a toolbag. The Flamingos and 'I Only Have Eyes For You'

We here at the Jersey City Desk would like to send this one out to all our brave and patient friends in Hoboken and parts of Jersey City who had to go through all they had to endure this past week with Suez Water forgetting where they put their tools. Yes yes we know the song is about Boston but tonight let's use our imaginations and pretend it's about Hoboken and Newport. The Standells with 'Dirty Water'

Beautiful warm holiday weekend evenings are to be met with joyful music and thus we send you out the door tonight with Neko Case and a song that if you can't dance to you're dead. 'Honky Tonk Hiccups' wrapping up another Music Series.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

There were a lot of stories and even more speculation that after becoming mayor-elect and promptly canceling the reval which was 95% done with Realty Appraisal Co., was done to protect Fulop's base downtown from some much bigger tax bills. In court papers Realty Appraisal Co. says that's exactly what happened:

Rubenstein alleges in a sworn statement filed with the court on Aug. 18 that Fulop called off the reval soon after he was elected mayor in 2013 because of pressure from homeowners that formed his political base and not, as Fulop alleges, because Realty Appraisal hired a former top city official to help it win the reval contract.Owners of Downtown brownstones, townhomes and condos "knew their properties were among the most under-assessed in the city," Rubenstein said. "They had the most to gain from halting the revaluation, and that was what their councilperson promised he would do if elected mayor."

Uh, Ryan, if allegations now equal proof you're in a heaping pile of shit. Shall we revisit the Bubba Cowan lawsuit? There were some allegations we should now take as proof, yes? A lot of people are alleging the idea to file paperwork calling city hall dilapidated reeks of patronage. Must mean it's proved patronage, should Johnny be free to just write stories like that?

If allegations now equal proof Johnny's going to have to hire writers.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Look Fuckface VonClownstick, if you're going to make shit up about the city where Johnny lives and loves then you and he are gonna have a problem. This is a fine city with GREAT PEOPLE and a lot to offer and one of those things is NOT, nor has it ever been, support of terrorism. People here love America and work hard, so they can help support the money you suck out of our economy (Thanks for swallowing) with your ugly-ass buildings' tax abatements. Why would you build in a city that cheered on 9/11 anyway?

For your crimes of opening your yuuuuuuuge mouth up and simply making shit up, or as Johnny likes to call it 'writing checks with your mouth your body can't cash', you Donald Trump are hereby and forthwith BANNED from Jersey City.

You brought this on yourself. Maybe some self-reflection from something other than a mirror is in order.

We have no idea what the fuck Don Trump is talking about when he mentioned at a xenophobic carnival barker campaign stop that on 9/11 "thousands" of people from Jersey City cheered the destruction. What an ignorant thing to say especially since it never happened. If it did happen friends there would be plenty of video and images since cameras did exist on 9/11.

What a day. First off the day itself was grand. Then Johnny had some great coffee, followed by a Barcelona trouncing of Real Madrid. Late tonight his Red Wings won in overtime. Mostly thought he spent his afternoon watching football and prepping for

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show!

Michigan State 17
Ohio State 14
Eight political science students, a gymnastics coach, three professors, and six janitors all said they too were leaving Ohio State because of the playcalling. Whining, it's the Buckeye way

Alabama 56
Charleston Southern 6
Why the hell do SEC schools schedule ridiculous creampuffs the third weekend of November? These little teams have no chance

Florida 20
Florida Atlantic 14 OT
Well, OK, maybe they have a shot but they'll never win one of these creampuff games

The Citadel 23
South Carolina 22
Moving on...

Oklahoma 30
TCU 29
At the very end TCU decided they REALLY wanted to play in the Liberty Bowl and went for two instead of overtime

Harvard 38
Yale 19
If Harvard has twice as many points as Yale and Yale has 19 points, how many points does Harvard have?

Dartmouth 17
Princeton 10
Dartmouth ties Harvard for the Ivy title

Wabash 35
Albion 14
Gotta get Wabash onto the Scoreboard Show at least once a year

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Valdosta State 61
Carson-Newman 59
Valdosta State scored THIRTY FOUR points in the fourth quarter to really get power up and win the game AND advance in the Division II playoffs. Greg Dent scored on a 28 yard TD catch with no time remaining for the win. If you follow the Scoreboard Show you know Scoreboard Show rules mean Greg Dent can now loot and pillage for 24 hours.

Funny how life works out. One day you're a young teen and your friend Roger (that's the second time his influence on a young impressionable, ne, sponge Johnny has been mentioned recently) is putting this album on and this being the first song on the Dreamboat Annie album (on his new Marantz system), and blowing Johnny away. Then one day he's standing in NYC briefly chatting up Ann and Nancy Wilson in Union Square after seeing them live, mmm, 5 times in between.

They are awesome and they will always be awesome. Heart with 'Crazy on You'

Though you may find it strange it can be difficult to live with Johnny. Living with a know-it-all class clown does have it's drawbacks Johnny is led to understand. You just never know when your helpful incursions into Mrs. Johnny's world just won't be appreciated. Example, she was watching a show on the Food Network on cooking a proper Thanksgiving turkey and the rather long session on trussing the bird was on so naturally Johnny saw an opportunity to lay down a soundtrack for something so dullsville. He hit the Sonos on and within seconds had this one blasting through the condo. Chuck D and Flavor Flav are gonna help you get your holiday turkey juicy and looking smart.

Bass in your face.

See kids, the lesson here is jackassery is OK if it comes from a want to do something funny in your own mind :)

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Johnny loves the Pirates of the Caribbean movies for the most part and always loved this scene, the end of Beckett, so he made this gif. It wasn't online before so anyone who wants it now feel free to haz.
Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We're not going to bury the lead, a mayor running for governor can't address anything in real time. Mayor Fulop has had nothing to say about the recent spate of murders and shootings. He's sure had nothing to say about the reval that's coming, perhaps to be force fed to Jersey City by the state. But why? Easy. Anything he says or his spokespeoples say it can and will be used against him in a campaign for governor. Basically the communication on big important issues is non-existent which is severely shortchanging the residents of OUR Fair City. This situation is a bust. Are we supposed to sit around waiting until after Fulop wins or doesn't to be told what's going on or to have a mayor open enough not to wait days or even weeks to spin the best sounding response?

Note to the mayor's office. Johnny was at Park and Sixth last night for dinner with friends, the table behind Johnny were talking reval and a spirited discussion was being had on the reval at the bar at leaving time. The citizenry sure knows what's going on in real time. It's a shame the run for governor costs Jersey City residents honest information as to what it's "leaders" are doing so they themselves can plan ahead.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Watercooler time. So Johnny's dog walker came back to do Johnny a favor and take an evening walk as Johnny cut out to dinner with friends. He came in with his music playing on his sound system that lets him listen to high end speakers while he walks dogs and any music he has can set the mood. As he arrived, the music playing sounded very very similar to a song Johnny couldn't remember the exact name of (odd for him) but found out later the song is question is Sonny James and 'A Little Bit South of Saskatoon', a jangly country song from the 70's that made the soundtrack of the classic Paul Newman movie Slapshot.

Now, why Johnny brought all this up. The comment section which you have to check out if you're a fan of the movie, is practically nothing but quotes, the famous and obscure alike, from Slapshot and everyone is having a grand old time. Click the link at the top of this video to get to the comments and one that should probably be the new wording over the mantle of this dump:

Here comes the reval, something that has been kryptonite for Jersey City mayors since 1988. Before he even became Mayor Steve Fulop canceled the contract of a company by his own admission was 95% complete with it. He cut them off and stopped payment on the check.

Reval, where the Jersey City real estate gets reassessed at going rates, and how just about anything over three floors in the downtown area has come after 1988, well you can see the mayor shitting himself as he comes back from a Governor wannabe convention down in Atlantic City yesterday. Downtown Jersey City is gonna get hit and hit hard.

Right now there needs to be a hold on ANY vote to give abatements to Jersey City developers until AFTER the reval. We're going to need that money. The 100 million (rough estimates) left off the tax rolls downtown already are gonna crush the numbers as to what taxpayers pay.

The time to put the nuts away for winter is now (well it was 5 years ago but DUH) and stop the giveaways.

PATH and the Port Authority want you to know we take your complaints and concerns to heart by offering very little to no update information, and replying only to concerns like which cars lack air conditioning. We wish you'd all just shut up and fuck off but we can't say it outloud. Just swipe or tap your cards and deal with the fact once that happens, you can pound sand for all we care. If you complain too loudly we'll close Exchange Place on weekends this winter too.

Peter Genovese was writing on NJ.com about the top ten overrated things in New Jersey. One on the list was Fuho, ie Hoboken. Genovese didn't have many nice things to say about the Mile Square City, here one we'll print then you go read the rest:

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Jets, Giants and Rutgers all go down on different days in different way, all agonizing. The Jets lost to Rex Ryan and Buffalo last Thursday and rex sure made it known he was having a good time beating his old employer. The Giants lost at the very end to of all teams the Patriots who they had a recent good string against. Losing right at the end also has the Giants division lead down to half a game over of all teams Washington and the Eagles. Rutgers is now to the point where they are happy keeping games close. It' a program that is collapsing and badly needs an overhaul.

Grand Valley State 24
Saginaw Valley 17
Johnny is just being a dick to his godson in a drunk uncle kind of way pointing out SVSU is 1-9

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Massachusetts 28
Eastern Michigan 17
If Eastern hadn't somehow managed to beat equally inept Wyoming in Laramie in September we'd say this game was the undisputed Stinks Outloud Bowl Championship. After EMU also lost to stinky farty smelly Miami of Ohio last week we're still gonna give the Most Pungent Team Award in 2015 to the boys from Johnny's former town of Oopsilanti. When you're everyone's second win of the season you've earned no less. Nope, still not through that wall from last year
Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Nebraska comes into Piscataway at 3:30 today on an emotional high. Who wouldn't be after the B1G officials allowed to knock off the #7 by running out of bounds then hiding behind those refereeisms about intended meanings of rules. Until last Saturday this was a lost season in Lincoln, something you don't normally ever see. In fact Nebraska entered November with 6 losses last week for the first time ever. RU is having a bad season without much hope but then again they're only a week behind Nebraska with a win and hope. Nebraska is a funny team. Quite a few of their plays wind up looking broken and thus defenders must hang on in the secondary that much longer. If the Rutgers secondary can play like they did against MSU they'll have a punchers chance as Johnny thinks the front 7 or 8 or the Scarlet Knights can minimize Husker running damage because well, they'll have to.

RU was embarrassed last week at Michigan. Michigan kinda sorta ran things up. How badly does RU want to get back some of that pride and stand up at home and get some of it back against a beatable team with a great pedigree. Will they have enough offense?

Friday, November 13, 2015

What the fuck is wrong with people? Johnny could go on a diatribe about this and that and religion but it won't bring those people in Paris back. Tonight it's simply inevitable Johnny would turn inward. Just how he and his brain function. Johnny has a high enough IQ and doesn't need a lot of TV and internet psychobabble about who and why and what conjectures. Johnny can process the facts just fine. Right now he needs music to simmer down now. Yes this first one is fitting and these lyrics will be running rattling around the brain all night. Pink Floyd and 'Goodbye Blue Sky'

Did you see the frightened ones
Did you hear the falling bombs
Did you ever wonder
Why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Oh, OK, a huge skyscraper at 31st and 6th is taking a huge piss on everyone and everything and that's your response? We're not going to steal anybody's thunder but you have to see this picture. One wonders what is being powerwashed into the streets and onto citizens from inside the building.

We all too well remember the fatal accidents lately on Metro North and Amtrak trains impacting our friends and neighbors. Most people in Rep. Albio Sires district have taken trains or use them regularly. Trains and transportation are of utmost importance. Thus safety on trains protecting riders is of utmost importance. Congress, after the Amtrak crash near Philadelphia, passed a new rail safety law with "Positive Train Control" technologies that could have quite possibly prevented the fatal Amtrak wreck. It was to be in place by this December 31st.

Here is where we as citizens, taxpaying and not, who ride the trains need a firm answer from Rep. Albio Sires on a difficult topic. The House took a "voice vote" which means nobody wanted to be on record when Congress just voted to give those who run the transportation another three to five more YEARS to get it done. Why go on record when you can simply say after the next preventable crash "Well, uh, yeah of course I was for it all along and everyone hates train accidents."

After a 1-0 first game victory in DC last weekend, the Red Bulls look to advance in the MLS Eastern Conference playoffs with a good result today. For those not hip to soccer that goal AT DC is big because in home and home, in soccer called "ties" that is the tie-breaker. Here's to a good result today at 3pm at Red Bull Stadium. Johnny can't wait to get tickets to the next round!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Nebraska 39
Michigan State 38
Apparently you CAN run out of bounds and catch a pass for a touchdown

Clemson 23
Florida State 13
Clemson answers any questions about their lofty ranking

Florida 9
Vanderbilt 7
Poor people paid money to watch this wreck

Navy 45
Memphis 20
Memphis falls from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Navy picks up their biggest win in forever

UTEP 24
Rice 21
Because someone had to be the better 4-5 team

Penn 25
Princeton 23
Because someone had to the be smarter 5-3 team

Newberry 47
Limestone 7
Dear old Limestone falls to 2-6

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Lycoming 43
Delaware Valley 42
No sir, Delaware Valley will not be playing in the college football playoff this year after collapsing in the fourth quarter and giving up 16 points to Lycoming. Delaware Valley has a sad tonight, almost as big as Johnny's

By his own words Cristiano, maybe the second best player in the world behind that Argentinian mop headed kid, has expressed after his next contract in Europe, whether it takes him from Real Madrid to Paris Saint-Germain or back to Manchester United, in three to four years MLS should be expecting at least one season from the global icon known as #CR7:

"I've always said living and playing there is a possibility."
Nobody close to his name has come over. Not Thierry Henry to the Red Bulls, not David Villa to NYCFC. Ronaldo will no doubt get to choose the team he plays for. Since MLS plays through Spring, Summer and Fall, he wouldn't have to put winter miles on his legs as in Europe. Johnny's guess is he could land in two places, LA or NYC. Which NYC franchise is the question. The Red Bulls sure look like a better bet right now, winning two Supporters Shield trophies as top regular season team in the last three years and are favorites to win the MLS title this year. Much more attractive and who wants to play in Los Angeles in July and August?

Can you imagine the PATH trains out to Harrison on Red Bull game nights?

As the calendar moves deeper into November the feeling at the Rutgers football building can't be lobbying for which bowl game you want to make sure you qualify for and impress the committee. It's more a "can the coach save his job and who is playing for a starting job next year, who has quit and how will this impact recruiting" feeling.

First, can Kyle Flood save his job? Our guess is no and we'll pile on unnecessarily and say he shouldn't even if they win out. He's regressed slightly from the Greg Schiano years hasn't he? For every close loss to an MSU there are horrid blow out losses, either way, losses. His suspension didn't help matters and his actions to get that suspension would have been enough for Johnny to show him the door.

Who is playing for a starting job next year? Everyone not a senior. Easy. Nobody should think they have a lock on anything. Who has quit? We'll see and coaches will sure see when they break down game film.

Will this have an impact on recruiting? Oh yeah. After a promising first season in the B1G in which Rutgers represented well, kids now look at a program in disarray, an inconsistent AD, and lacking facilities. If everyone got on the same side and all rowed together and they raised money for a new stadium and got a first class coach it'd STILL be an 5-7 year turnaround to really compete with Michigan State, Ohio State and newly refurbished Michigan. Iowa is a great story but could well be one-year wonders.

Speaking of Michigan. Remember when Rutgers "upset" Michigan last year in Piscataway? Johnny is going to bet the Michigan players remember it well. Today RU plays in the Big Quiet House in Ann Arbor (Anne Arbor is a slut) and things don't look good barring a true upset. Michigan's defense should well handle anything the Scarlet Knights can throw at them and the members of the skunk family will be remembering their last two games, a last-second brain fart loss to Sparty and a last-second brain fart win over Minnesota and will (WARNING--Midwestern colloquialism ahead) try and put the hay in the barn early. The Rutgers defense is going to have to be darned near perfect to keep this one from getting out of hand early, something BYU and Northwestern did a poor job of. No penalties keeping Michigan drives alive. No missed fumble recoveries or dropped interceptions. Play as hard as you can for as long as you can and hope the offense can somehow get two touchdowns. Johnny thinks RU will get those two TD's but that's about all.

The NJ Transit Police Department's Office of Emergency Management will be conducting a training exercise tomorrow at the HBLR Caven Point Facility along with federal, state and local partners in order to evaluate a multiple agency response to a simulated transportation incident.The Jersey City Desk has gotten ahold of leaked documents and this four hour training exercise is called, "Operation Big Mouth - Chris Christie with a Phone on a Quiet Car"
The Jersey City Desk, first with important news you can use.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Boy sometimes classy people just find you. Perhaps you're walking your dog and hear from a block away a woman yelling some very vulgar words into her cell phone, all while smoking cigarette after cigarette (and of course throwing the butts on the ground like classy people do), barefoot, leaning on a car in front of kids getting on busses and walking with parents to their schools.

For your display this morning lady, you are hereby nominated for Ms. Klassy Kakes 2015

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Northern Lights may make an appearance in the New Jersey skies tonight as a minor geomagnetic storm is currently affecting the Earth. The Aurora Borealis could be seen as far south tonight as Maryland. Now, this is the greater NYC ambient light area so #1 good luck. If you can find a somewhat darkish secluded spot look north and if the Northern lights are visible, well then you're in for a treat.

More info on the best places to look and on the Aurora Borealis itself follow this link.

Tomorrow when Johnny steps into the voting booth he's sure and shootin' going to vote to keep Jersey City municipal elections for mayor and council et al in may as it has been forever. Why move it to November and then have a ballot 3 pages long? Why take away the importance of the Jersey City elections to mix it in with county and state and federal voting? Then there is the question about actually WHY it's getting moved right now (To help Steve Fulop be able to run for mayor should he lose the Democratic nomination for governor) and why even consider moving it when it benefits ONE person.

So though it's a non-binding vote and Johnny is pretty sure the council is in the bag with Fulop once again on this he's voting to keep the importance of the Jersey City elections front and center, not moved under county drain commissioner on the November ballot.

Six more were shot in Jersey City this weekend adding to a rapidly rising total this fall. Our comments last week are the same; What is the city doing about this other than telling the media those who were involved haven't been the most helpful? We get that a lot of those who are involved in such matters won't talk to cops. It doesn't make it any less disturbing to have a city looking like a shooting gallery just because of those who are involved. Are we waiting for an innocent bystander to get killed? What are we doing? Nothing of substance from the mayor or his spokesperson about what is being done to protect innocent citizens or bring those guilty to justice.

We have cops standing at construction sites with hardhats on when they're not texting from their own cars. If we have money for millions upon millions in tax abatements and loans to Bruce Ratner we should have money for more cops on the streets. Are we doing this?

The administration that was gonna be all about communication must have only meant store openings and fun events.

It's the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show Halloween Edition, now 20% more scary!

Miami 30
Duke 27
Sure the Miami player was down when he lateraled it, sure a player from Miami comes running onto the field at about the Duke 15 yard line to help celebrate early making it 12 Miiami players on the field at once. Sure that same player who made it an even dozen was carrying his helmet yet another infraction. It happened to Duke so in the words of Chrissie Hynde, "Well ha ha and too bad." Halloween, and we're gonna use THAT word, zaniness:

Michigan 29
Minnesota 26
Good thing Michigan was playing these Gophers and not the Golden kind. That was some ugly shit right there. Someone on the Twitter said Minnesota decided to eschew the costumes today and just go as themselves. Ouch.

Colgate 31
Fordham 29
A tough loss for Fordham and an odd standings situation in the Patriot League. Fordham is 7-2 after today and Colgate 4-4 BUT Colgate is 3-0 in conference thus leading the team with the best overall record

Harvard 14
Dartmouth 13
Harvard scored all 14 points in the fourth quarter and took control of the Ivy League race

Ferrum 32
Methodist 31
Ferrum got power really up in the fourth quarter (a lot of that today) by scoring 25 and getting their first win, speaking of which...

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
New Mexico State 55
Idaho 48
In getting their first win of the season New Mexico State rallied from a 23 point second half deficit as Larry Rose III, #3 in your programs but #1 in your hearts, scored three fourth quarter TD's get the win. With his 3 TD's and 212 yards Larry Rose III may loot and pillage Las Cruces for the next 24 hours.

The Flametrick Subs & Satan's Cheerleaders taking us out on Halloween night with 'Radiation Rock'

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Johnny's been so busy today getting the house ready to receive the kids and then get ready to get dressed up for the first time in years and hit a couple parties and the big Newark plaza event tonight. We may check in before the Scoreboard Show with another Halloween fun clip but if not have fun tonight and be safe and fabulously spooky.

"Sugar pie honey bunch," normally the words of a guy in deep shit with the girlfriend. Not here, the words of Holland Dozier Holland sung by the fabulous Four Tops it's 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)' make everything alright. Motown batting second tonight......Motown.

You kids go have fun at all your pre-Halloween parties tonight but save your energy for the big party downtown tomorrow night. We're out the door on the Music Series this week with a great rocker from Foo Fighters and 'Learn to Fly'

Thursday, October 29, 2015

While singing 'If I Were King of the Forest' in the Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion sings the lyrics, "What makes the Sphinx the Seventh Wonder?" Oops, but the Sphinx is not one of the Seven Wonders. The nearby the Great Pyramid of Giza is.

What Johnny is going to do is tell you there will be an FM themed light show on the Empire State Building tonight at exactly 7pm (At seven in the evening. It was exactly seven in the evening -- The right people will get that) the Steely Dan song "FM" of all things will be broadcast on the radio and YouTube and you can get much more info at the link.

We agree with Gothamist writer John Del Signore about this not being one of Steely Dan's best songs though popular it was, and like him we're going to post a different Steely Dan song to fire you up, the title track from the album Aja.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

In conjunction with the Liberty Humane Society, Uber will, when you press that app tomorrow between 11am and 3pm deliver a kitten looking for a forever home but your $30 will get you 15 minutes with a snuggly little kitteh:

As part of the national "UberKITTENS" day taking place in more than 50 cities across the country, Uber drivers will bring Liberty Humane Society cats to businesses and homes in Jersey City and Hoboken for 15 minute "snuggle sessions."

Could you die?

Johnny grew up with cats and sometimes those cats had kittens. He's getting all fuzzy thinking about holding kittens again.

We're gonna give the famous jersey City Desk last word to Irene Borngraeber, executive director at Liberty Humane Society

"Our mission is to make sure each and every one of our community animals finds a lifelong, loving home. Uber is helping us fulfill that mission with a fun, easy way to raise awareness about local pet adoption that puts these kittens right in the arms of potential parents."

Monday, October 26, 2015

Thirty years ago tonight a student at Eastern Michigan University met a student from Michigan State University at a weekend political retreat in Bad Axe Michigan. Thirty years later Johnny and Mrs. Johnny have been together since that night and are doing just fine thank-you and Johnny wanted to take a second to dedicate tonight's open thread to the love of his life, she's just the best.

October 26, 1985, maybe you've seen that date before. Yep, the date has been immortalized in the REAL Back to the Future day, October 26.

You can't say gun violence make a comeback because it never really left. Incidents over the weekend, the latest a shooting at Communipaw and Grand, brings no commentary from our city leader(s). Nothing on Twitter, nothing on Facebook, just kind of a hoping it will go away or you won't notice kind of mode at City Hall today. From the Jersey Journal:

Last night's shooting was the most recent in a string of street violence. On Saturday night, two teens were shot in the area of Forrest Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. One of the victims remained in critical condition as of last night and a 15-year-old Claremont Avenue resident was charged with the shooting.Last Friday, 21-year-old Donald Marquis Gadson was shot several times and killed on Dales Avenue. His funeral is being held today, a block away from where last night's shooting occurred.

Gun violence rears it's ugly head while Jersey city leaders hide theirs in the sand. How fitting. But, as we all know, unless it's a new building opening or a a physical fitness challenge on Liberty State Park we're not going to hear from the mayor on this until challenged.

Ohio State 49
Rutgers 7
Rutgers, the B1G outpost closest to NYC should best understand what 'Not Ready for Prime Time Players' means

USC 42
Utah 24
Everyone not named Baylor or Ohio State move one spot forward. The Utes take a tumble from #3

Bye Week 6
Michigan 0
Bye Week forced Michigan to fumble a punt snap and ran it back for a late TD. Speaking of which...

Georgia Tech 22
Florida State 16
Florida State has their special teams senior moment in losing on the last play to the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. Have you ever heard worse announcing on a big play? This guy's call is ass

Michigan State 52

Indiana 26

Connor Cook has a career day and looks like he'll have a career payday come draft day

Oklahoma State 58

Kansas 10

All joking aside, sending best wishes to the families and friends of those impacted by today's senseless DUI at the homecoming parade that has thus far killed 4 and injured dozens more

Toledo 51

Massachusetts 35

The Rockets spent the first half eating those tasty Tony Paco's hot dogs one Corporal Maxwell Klinger talked about on M*A*S*H all the time then they got power up and crushed the Minutemen in the second half outscoring them 41-7, like Rockets do

Northern Illinois 49

Eastern Michigan 21

Eastern Michigan outplayed and outscored the Huskies in the second half 21-14. If only they could find a way to hide those 35 first half points by NIU with some dodgy scoreboard work

Montana State 63

East Tennessee State 7

Instead of making their guests feel welcome in Bozeman, Montana State beat the bejeepers out of their guests, tired from a long trip with their parents and sick kids in the SUV

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®

North Greenville 69

University of God's Chosen 0

Just not chosen to play football. Great effort by North Greenville, for a bunch of guys going to hell and all